India has never been a communal and theocratic country. Unity in cultural and religious diversity has always been the essence of our political system. The Jinx as beef reminds us again that the onetime British Raj used it to divide and confuse people.
Bihar has a melting pot of various political experiments. People wake up to realize that this device laced with venom won’t work for sure. Communal tensions and conflicts are relatively of the past origin which was used as a moth-eaten device for earning political mileage. At least Laloo Yadav’s regime of fifteen years in the state was free from such political dengue. The so-called jungle was happier and peaceful.
The usage of beef unfortunately attributes to communal violence and hatred. Political heroes must not forget that the Constitution guarantees religious freedom and equality to all its citizens. There cannot be any discrimination on the basis of religion, caste or creed. No doubt, reservation is a constitutional provision for uplifting socially and economically deprived sections of people.
Mandal Commission has been proved to be a hallmark of performance for the weaker sections. There have been clashes and conflicts but every clash is not against society and the people. Fanning the communal passion for petty political gains is a devil’s role against people. Over the times we have witnessed that many of the tensions and conflicts between communities have their source in economic and cultural backwardness. Else, they are sponsored hidden agenda against people and the community.
Let us be guided and committed to our moral strength and principle. The ongoing experiment for rousing religious sentiment is going to fail shamefully. Bihar particularly stands clear. Biharis strongly realize that religious-intolerance, hatred, fundamentalism etc. can never be part of their ethos.
Contest and let others contest elections. Majority community in Bihar remains as majority but their religious outlook and practice have never been narrow, sectarian, obscurantist and fundamentalist. RJD president Lalu Yadav is a Hindu but he never believed in conversion, coercion, intolerance, or religious persecution. His commitment to secularism has never been in doubt. Even the former Prime Minister and the founder of BJP Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s successful tenure is a role model. His style of oratory was never a cacophony or mundane in his public meetings. His stature as secular leader and his deep political insights are still a fresh in the minds of millions. He never used communal passion and confusion as a trump card to satisfy his ego and political ambition that too at the cost of moth eaten popularity.
Bihar Elections 2015 is the 17th election of the State Assemblies. Not much as before, the misuse of money power has again appeared as a major evil influence. We are responsible and sensible to our national duty. Let us dump this social evil. We are high in spirit and deeds. We can never be taken and treated as commodity. We are firm and united on political culture, ethos and change of hearts. We are the biggest democracy of the world and have completed 68 years of independence. We are free, fair, and peaceful in exercising our franchise, the foundation of democracy. Anti-defection is a moral crime and must not be forgiven. There is an urgent need to eliminate such evil of political defections.
Misuse of money power in elections is an established fact. Contributions by corporate houses, firms, business groups, multinational companies, contractors and agencies also affect the free and fair elections. Much of such contribution reaches the personal pockets of political leaders. It is a bitter truth that people in rural Bihar are relatively poor but don’t live in fool’s paradise. This gimmick of wrong money again is not going to change the mood of the voters. Criminalization of politics and influence of money power can certainly be given a crushing defeat. People must awake to realize and tackle this immediately to make elections fairly free and fair.
We are quite aware of the bondage of appalling poverty, degrading illiteracy and deprivation. Rural Bihar is still deprived of basic minimum needs of living. The urgent need is to wage firm struggle on all fronts of development. Mere pompous slogans of development have worked nothing until now. People of Bihar realize it. We fought against colonial masters. The second one is to be fought against, poverty and criminalization of politics. Election is the answer. We are free to fight rampant corruption.
Liberalism and liberal theory have provided the framework within which much of discussion about minority rights and multiculturalism has taken place. Liberalism allows individuals to pursue their own vision of the good life within the framework of state laws. Much hyped religious sentiment needs to be eliminated as primary marker of difference from our society. Poverty is on increase especially in the villages. There is no perceptible improvement in the quality of life and living standards. Poor can’t be further marginalized. Poverty is a curse and root cause of many evils and crimes. It must not be a mere vote-catching device with the political leaders. Poverty amidst plenty is the main problem. The urgent need of the hour is that there must be a proper balance between industrial and agricultural growth. Bihar is basically a state of villages and agriculture. Poverty and economic migration can be seen at its starkest among them. They lack even the bare minimum needs of life and majority of them have been living under poverty line for generations. Unless their poverty is alleviated, there cannot be real freedom and independence. Many schemes have been launched to remove rural poverty by the leaders. They have also yielded results but it is like a drop in the ocean.
Let us balance it, minimize it. It’s a fact that Lalu Yadav’s regime worked hard and the implementation of policies has direct and close bearing on rural poverty removal. Still it needs to be expedited. The landless poor farmers, peasants and laborers amongst the socially deprived community earned their social status. People at large got their right to rise. The private mercenary armies in Bihar as of now are not very intense what those were a frightening and a virtual chaos. Fall in appalling poverty and illiteracy is the result of social justice. Rise to insurgency has remarkably gone down.
Bihar has been taken as synonymous with elegant developmental programs. Maiden achievements by the Nitish Kumar’s government are never ignoble. Especially state’s physical infrastructure got its form. At least this vacuum got removed and the state got a kick start to compete with other states of the country.
Still, the leaders have miles to go. Bihar Elections 2015 is different and more challenging than before. Tasks ahead are to be accomplished. Elections can’t be an issue of prestige or political ego. People’s mandates can never be priced in Cr of rupees. Our motive is clear: Bihar on all fronts has to shine. State of poverty is so grim that a poor person cannot afford to pay the electricity bill fairly. Undeniably, it is a very weak sign of policy on economic growth. This is one of the real issues. Mongering of beef is immaterial. Bihar can’t afford this malicious act. A true leader is a well-wisher of all types of citizens. The leader has to perform the best. We must remain aware of the original DNA. Rest is fowling and the history ahead will never forgive. We stand firm and united in safeguarding the glory of Bihar. Anything harmful and obstructive has to leave.
Our home state of Bihar once again is going to be an inspiration: the sun rises in the East.
Madani Mohiuddin Ahmad, King Saud University, Riyadh, KSA. email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Phone: 00966-542514538 (KSA), 0091- 9873503721 (New Delhi, India).
